Resources

Why Psychotherapy?

Why We Should All Try Therapy, TED Talk by Dr. Emily Anhalt

Working with Difficult Emotions

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns, MD

When Panic Attacks by David D. Burns, MD

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron

Art Therapy and Creativity

Definition of Art Therapy from American Art Therapy Association:

Art Therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.

Art Therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Art Therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change.

Art therapists are master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages across a broad spectrum of practice. Guided by ethical standards and scope of practice, their education and supervised training prepares them for culturally proficient work with diverse populations in a variety of settings. Honoring individuals’ values and beliefs, art therapists work with people who are challenged with medical and mental health problems, as well as individuals seeking emotional, creative, and spiritual growth.

Through integrative methods, art therapy engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone. Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience, and empowers individual, communal, and societal transformation.

Videos of Art Therapy in Action

Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body, & Imagination in the Healing Process by Cathy Malchiodi

Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life by Shakti Gawain

Relationship, Sex, Sexuality, Gender & Identity

The Relationship Cure by John Gottman, PhD and Joan DeClaire

Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples, 20th Anniversary Edition by Harville Hendrix, PhD

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson

Mindfulness Practice

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Healing Trauma

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD